Missionary, Humanitarian, and Human Rights Worker Father Richard W. Timm, CSC, Dies

Father Richard W. Timm, CSC

Photo courtesy via Dhaka Tribune

Bangladesh minister Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury

(left)givingAbu Sayeed Chowdhury Award

 for human rights to Father Richard W. Timm, CSC

Photo courtesy: the dailystar.net/

Father Richard William Timm, CSC (1923 - 2020), an American missionary priest, educator, humanitarian, and human rights worker in Bangladesh died of old-age complications in South Bend, Indiana, USA, on September 11. He was 97 years old. He worked in Bangladesh for 65 years. 

First, he came to Bangladesh in 1952 as a professor at St. Gregory's College (the precursor of Notre Dame College) and did further study and research on nematodes. He discovered a few unknown types of nematodes, one of which was named 'Timmia parva' (small Timmian worm) after him. 

Later he was the principal of Notre Dame College, served 1970-cyclone affected people in Monpura Island in the Bay of Bengal through a voluntary organization called 'HELP.' He also served the 1971 liberation war-affected people as the Planning Officer of the Christian Organization for Relief and Rehabilitation (CORR), which later was renamed Caritas Bangladesh. 

He founded and became Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace in Bangladesh. Through this Commission, he worked relentlessly for the human rights of ordinary people in Bangladesh. 

Father Timm was also the author of several books. Among the books are -- a textbook on college biology (this book's name is not known to us now),  The Plant-Parasitic Nematodes of Thailand and The Philippines (SEATO: 1965), The Church and Development in Bangladesh (Dhaka: Caritas Bangladesh, 1994), On Building A Just Society (Dhaka: Caritas Bangladesh, 1994), Forty Years in Bangladesh: Memoirs of Father Timm (Dhaka: Caritas Bangladesh, 1995), History of Holy Cross Priests in Bangladesh Since Independence: 1971 - 2000 (Dhaka: Provincial, Holy Cross Fathers, 2000), and 150 Years of Holy Cross in East Bengal Mission (Dhaka: Congregation of Holy Cross, 2003). 

After being the only nematologist in Bangladesh, he, in the 1950s and 1960s, wrote over 70 scientific papers. 

He was the recipient of a number of honours and awards. Among these are The Abu Sayeed Chowdhury Award for human rights in Bangladesh, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (For the Church and the Pope) award from Pope Paul VI (1978) for his service to the 1971 war-affected people of Bangladesh, the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1987), a medal from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace of the Vatican in recognition of his contribution to education, charity, justice, and peace in Bangladesh (2009), and honorary citizenship of Bangladesh from the government.

To know more on Father Richard W. Timm, CSC, please read the following:

• Friend of Bangladesh Father Richard William Timm passes away at 97 (Sept. 12, 2020)
• Father Richard William Timm, Magsaysay awardee and missionary to Bangladesh, dies at 97 (Sept. 12, 2020)
• Richard William Timm, CSC [his profile]
• From the Archives: Freedom fight by two missionaries [Father Eugene E. Homrich, CSC, and Father Richard W. Timm, CSC]
• A Discussion with Father Richard William Timm, Congregation of  Holy Cross (March 25, 2015)
• Obituary: Rev. Richard W. Timm, CSC (Sept. 11, 2020)
• Richard William Timm
• Reverend Richard W. Timm, CSC

Father Silvano Garello, SX, Is At Eternal Rest

Italian Xaverian missionary Father Silvano Garello, SX

Photo courtesy: Father Silvano Garello, SX

Father Silvano Garello, SX, a Xaverian missionary from Italy, working in Bangladesh for 47 years, died suddenly in the early hours of January 18 this year in the Xaverian House in Dhaka. He was 78. 

He was known as an avid promoter of Catholic literature in Bengali. He published more than 200 books and booklets of different genre on behalf of the National Social Catechetical Training Centre (NSCTC) of Jessore. 

He made a concerted effort in producing Catholic books in Bengali and making them available to as many people as possible. His intention was to let the Good News spread and make Catholics knowledgeable on Church teachings on the faith and morality.  

He himself did a few translations but had a group of translators to do the rest. He helped in ornamentation, design, and publication of the 2nd Vatican Council documents and the Catechism of the Catholic Church in Bengali. The Bengali translation of these two books were done by others. He wrote more than a dozen books on the Catholic Church situation and activities in Italian language for readers in Italy and wrote numerous articles for Italian newspapers and magazines.

Born in Valdagno, near Vicenza in northern Italy, on December 31, 1938, Father Garello was ordained a priest on October 25, 1964. He came as a missionary to the then East Pakistan, later called Bangladesh, in late 1970. 

Since 2002, he fully devoted himself in producing Catholic books and booklets in Bengali. He also edited Mongolbarta (the Good News), a bimonthly journal for catechists and teachers, from 1986 to 1996, on behalf of the NSCTC. 

The contribution of Father Silvano Garello, SX, to the Bengali Catholic literature will be remembered in Bangladesh for a long time to come.

To  learn more on him and his work,  please click on the following: 

• Father Silvano Garello, S.X.: A Relentless Advocate and Producer of Christian Literature in Bangladesh -- 1
• Father Silvano Garello, S.X.: A Relentless Advocate and Producer of Christian Literature in Bangladesh -- 2